Government Building Complex

Regjeringskvartalet

Regjeringskvartalet is a group of buildings housing several of the offices of the executive branch (ministries) as well as the Supreme Court. The area does not display a consistent style but instead reflects 200 years of development. The prime minister's building and the Y-building are functionalist or brutalist architecture. The Y-building has a particular layout and the facade is decorated by Picasso's drawings carved directly into the concrete. Pablo Picasso also decorated the stair well in the prime minister's building. The Royal Ministry of Finance occupies an imposing art noveau (jugendstil) building in red granite. The bomb 22 July 2011 caused considerable damage to several buildings (leaving 2000 offices unusable) and 8 civil servants lost their lives in the explosion. Some buildings have been repaired, others are demolished and some are still in the process of reconstruction. The area is open to pedestrians. A partly shattered newspaper panel with the original pages dated July 22 still stands. The July 22 Centre is the middle of the area.